Nordreich Liga Season XVIII
]] Nordreich Liga Season XVIII ran from July 2, 2014 to October 3, 2014. For the second consecutive season, the league saw no manager changes nor team movement during the off-season as Season XVIII began with the same 8 teams which had played in the previous season. Final Standings Regular Season Nordreich Liga 1 Statistics Leaders All-Star Team Team of the Month Award Retirements & Departures *'Oskar Dietze' (Kaapstad Hornets) – goalkeeper, aged 37. Diezte wore the #1 jersey and played with the team from Season I through until the end of Season XVIII. He was the very first player to sign with the club, and the first player to sign with the Nordreich Liga. As goalkeeper, Dietze also conceded the very first goal scored in the Nordreich Liga when Herman Ólafsson of Nordenstorm United potted the ball past him close in the crease during the debut match for the league on October 7, 2009. After the departure of Dakarai Baako on January 19, 2011 during Season V, Dietze become the sole remaining player from the club's original expansion roster. He was the starting goalkeeper for the first two seasons until Wollo Schampa signed with the club prior to the start of Season III, relegating him to back-up duties. Starting in Season VII, Dietze returned to duties as the starting keeper. He was inducted as an honourary member of the Nordreich Liga Hall of Fame on June 15, 2012. He gained legendary status when he played in his 100th match on October 17, 2012. When Sven-Östein Haraldsson, midfielder with Zemo City Avengers, was released early on in Season XII on September 24, 2012, Oskar Dietze became the last player in the entire league from the original expansion rosters. He relinquished his position as starting keeper at the conclusion of Season XVI. At the start of Season XVIII, Dietze announced that it would be his final campaign and he took on a back-up role behind Djambek Tchuem Mshonga. He was given the start in the final match of the season, against visiting Zemo City Avengers - the very same team he had debuted against 18 seasons before in the first-ever Nordreich Liga match. In the 85th minute, the legendary Zemo City Avengers fullback Yosef Triestsch entered play as a substitute in what would end up being a 5-3 win for the visitors. At the conclusion of the match, the two men received a standing ovation from the sell-out crowd at Greenpoint Stadium as the two famous legends then ran a victory lap together around the pitch for one last time before their retirements. Oskar Dietze retired with 162 games to his credit with the Hornets. He had a 63% career save average and 19% average on penalty saves. He was named to the X11 Teams at total of 25 times. His best season came during Season XII when he appeared in a career-high 14 matches that season and had a career-high 76% save average. *'Yosef Triestsch' (Nordenstrom United / Zemo City Avengers) - defender, aged 36. One of the greatest and most popular fullbacks ever to grace the field in the Nordreich Liga, Triestsch signed with Nordenstrom United during Season I and his #21 sweater remained a familiar sight on the Avengers back field for 18 glorious seasons. A workhorse player who played 5 seasons with 20 or more games and 1 season with an incredible 32 matches, Yosef Triestsch was the first and - at the time of his retirement - only Zemo City player to break the 300-game barrier, a feat he accomplished on July 2, 2014 mid-way through his final campaign. He appeared in his 100th legendary game way back in Season VI, on June 15, 2011, while his 200th bicentennial match occurred on in Season XII on December 1, 2012. In terms of career production, he led all Avenger fullbacks for points (78) and assists (62). He retired ranked 1st overall in the Zemo City record books with 199 X11 Team selections. His best season, productionwise, came in Season XIII when he scored 2 goals and 10 points - a career season high. Triestsch was a perennial all-star player, being named to the Nordreich Liga all-star teams in Season IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, and finally in XVII. His league merits were just as impressive: he finished 3rd in assists (5 assists) in Season VIII and Season XIII (6 assists) while finished 1st in X11 Team selections in Seasons XII (12), XIV (10), XVI (11), and XVII (11), 2nd in X11 selections in Seasons X (10) and XV (12), 3rd in X11 selections in Seasons VI (7) and XI (8), and 4th in X11 selections in Seasons V (11) and XIII (10). At the start of Season XVIII, he announced that it would be his final campaign. His 321st and final appearance took place in the final match of the season, when he entered the game as a substitute in the 85th minute. A true class act on and off the field, at the conclusion of the game (a 5-3 away win for his side over the Kaapstad Hornets), along with the legendary Hornets keeper Oskar Dietze, the two men received a standing ovation from the sell-out crowd at Greenpoint Stadium as the two famous legends ran a victory lap together around the pitch for one last time before their retirements. *'Ernest Ebede' - midfielder, wore #9 jersey and played with the team for 18 seasons from Season I, when he was promoted as a walk-on starter from the junior team late in the season, through into Season XVIII. Despite some set-backs due to injuries in Season VIII, he became the leading career points and career assist leader with the club after he matched Dakarai Baako's totals on October 8, 2011. Ebede also played his legendary 100th match during Season VIII as the Hornets routed the Valley Hillbillies 6-0 on November 9, 2011 - unfortunately leaving the match due to a minor injury in the final ten minutes. He dealt with further major injuries during Season XI and then Season XII which saw him miss the the last month of the season. Ernest Ebede played his 200th career match during Season XV on August 28, 2013. He placed his final game - his only one during Season XVIII - on July 30, 2014. Having entered the season after announcing his impending retirement, he was released by the club on August 10, 2014 - at the age of 37 - after 18 seasons and 245 games played. An ace with scoring close in the penalty box, Ebede scored 52 goals in his career - placing him 7th in goals for the club. He had 65 assists to his name which gave him a total of 117 points; he was tied for 5th in career points for the Hornets. He was a star prospect in his early seasons while playing alongside the great Dakarai Baako but was eclpised by Noukeu Keita by Season VII. His best campaigns came in Season V, Season X, Season XV and Season XVI when he reached career high totals for goals, assists, or points. Despite his lenghty career he never managed to make any all-star teams although he led the Hornets for scoring in Season V and finished 2nd in team scoring in 4 other seasons. League MVP Goalkeeper Mike van den Baan (Golden Valley FC) won the Hillo Maalepp MVP Trophy. Career Milestones 300 games *'Yosef Triestsch' (Zemo City Avengers) played in his 300th career match on July 2, 2014 200 games *'Lancelot Zemo' (Zemo City Avengers) played in his 200th career match on July 23, 2014 *'Aythami Polo' (Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats) played in his 200th career match on July 30, 2014 *'Sven Kurg' (Dorpat Lions) played in his 200th career match on August 23, 2014 *'Rein Mäll' (Dorpat Lions) played in his 200th career match on August 30, 2014 *'Egon Maalepp' (Zemo City Avengers) played in his 200th career match on September 10, 2014 Manager of the Season BaronZemo (Zemo City Avengers) and TerranceJoeB (Golden Valley FC) were co-winners of the Manager of the Season Award - each named as the X11 Manager selection four times during the season. Nordreich Cup Quarter-Finals Matches played July 5 and July 12, 2014 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats (3-1; 3-1) *Dorpat Lions defeated Zellar Athletic (3-2; 5-1) *Hells Cargo defeated Kaapstad Hornets (3-3; 4-1) *Vinland Berserkers defeated Golden Valley FC (1-1; 2-2) Semi-Finals Matches played July 19 and July 26, 2014 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Vinland Berserkers (3-1; 7-1) *Dorpat Lions defeated Hells Cargo (2-1; 4-4) Nordreich Cup Finals Matches played August 2 and August 9, 2014 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Dorpat Lions (1-1; 4-2) Tartu Open Cup Quarter-Finals Matches played on August 23 and August 30, 2014 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Vinland Berserkers (2-0; 4-1) *Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats defeated Hells Cargo (1-1; 3-1) *Kaapstad Hornets defeated Zeller Athletic (3-1; 3-1) *Golden Valley FC defeated Dorpat Lions (4-0; 1-) Semi-Finals Matches played on September 6 and September 13, 2014 *Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats defeated Kaapstad Hornets (3-0; 0-2) *Zemo City Avengers defeated Golden Valley FC (2-3; 1-0) Tartu Open Cup Finals Matches played on September 20 and September 27, 2014 *Zemo City Avengers defeated Zharr Nagrund Ziggurats (7-0; 3-1) Team Pages *Kaapstad Hornets Category:Sports Category:Soccer Category:Nordreich Liga Category:Nordreich